Phyllis Lyon (center) and Del Martin, who met in 1950 and became a couple in 1952, marry at San Francisco City Hall on Feb. 12, 2004. Martin died in 2008.

Photo: Liz Mangelsdorf, SFC

Phyllis Lyon (center) and Del Martin, who met in 1950 and became a...

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Joe Alfano (left) and Frank Capley, plaintiffs in a case before the state Supreme Court, celebrate the court's ruling on same-sex marriage in May 2008.

Photo: Katy Raddatz, SFC

Joe Alfano (left) and Frank Capley, plaintiffs in a case before the...

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Laura Espinosa (left) and Dolores Caruthers react in S.F. to the state Supreme Court's ruling in August 2004.

Photo: Lou Dematteis, REUTERS

Laura Espinosa (left) and Dolores Caruthers react in S.F. to the...

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Hundreds of people attend a candlelight vigil outside San Francisco City Hall in November 2008 after Proposition 8 banned same-sex marriage in the state.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Hundreds of people attend a candlelight vigil outside San Francisco...

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Emma Mishel, left, holds her partner Madelein McCormick, right, during a toast celebrating Obama's announcement that he supports gay marriage at the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center in San Francisco, Calif., May 10, 2012.

Photo: Jason Henry, Special To The Chronicle

Emma Mishel, left, holds her partner Madelein McCormick, right,...

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People signed posters thanking president Obama for his stance on marriage equality at the corner of Castro and 18th Street in San Francisco, Calif., May 9, 2012. Jason Henry/Special to The Chronicle

Photo: Jason Henry, Special To The Chronicle

People signed posters thanking president Obama for his stance on...

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MARRIAGE_093_fl.jpg; Hundreds of newly wed same-sex couples waited outside and around San Francisco City hall in long lines to get married. Today may be the last day of a marriage frenzy that began Thursday when Mayor Gavin Newsom directed city officials to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Since then hundreds of same-sex couples have trooped through City Hall to take advantage of the opportunity. Opponents of same-sex marriage, who have filed suit against the city, said they will return to court Tuesday to seek a temporary restraining order to stop the weddings. But those camped outside City Hall on Sunday night said it was worth the wait even if the licenses are eventually invalidated as the line went around the block at SF City Hall.
City:Ê 2/16/04, in San Francisco, CA.
Frederic Larson/The Chronicle;
Hundreds of wedding parties of same-sex couples waited in blocks-long lines for their turn to get inside City Hall to tie the knot.
Hundreds of wedding parties of same-sex couples waited in a blocks-long line for their turn to get inside City Hall to tie the knot.
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Photo: Frederic Larson, SFC

MARRIAGE_093_fl.jpg; Hundreds of newly wed same-sex couples waited...

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MARRIAGE_072_fl.jpg; Hundreds of newly wed same-sex couples waited outside and around San Francisco City hall in long lines to get married. Today may be the last day of a marriage frenzy that began Thursday when Mayor Gavin Newsom directed city officials to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. Since then hundreds of same-sex couples have trooped through City Hall to take advantage of the opportunity. Opponents of same-sex marriage, who have filed suit against the city, said they will return to court Tuesday to seek a temporary restraining order to stop the weddings. But those camped outside City Hall on Sunday night said it was worth the wait even if the licenses are eventually invalidated as the line went around the block at SF City Hall.
City:Ê 2/16/04, in San Francisco, CA.
Frederic Larson/The Chronicle;

Photo: Frederic Larson, SFC

MARRIAGE_072_fl.jpg; Hundreds of newly wed same-sex couples waited...

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(l to r) Lisa Weightman, 24, and Shanna Orona, 31, react to the news. They have been together for five years and just missed the chance to get married in S.F. while waiting for their families to arrive. People gather outside of the State of California Earl Warren building to hear the announcement. California's Supreme Court made a decision that the same-sex marriages in San Francisco last February and March are not valid.
Deanne Fitzmaurice / The Chronicle

Photo: Deanne Fitzmaurice, SFC

same-sex13_306_df.JPG
(l to r) Lisa Weightman, 24, and Shanna...

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Kurt Schade reacts during a rally against Proposition 8 in San Francisco, California November 4, 2008. The California ballot measure would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry and provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in the state. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES)

Photo: Robert Galbraith, Reuters

Kurt Schade reacts during a rally against Proposition 8 in San...

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Coy Abellano is comforted by Erwin Barron as he cries outside City Hall where hundreds of people gather for a candlelight vigil, Wednesday Nov. 5, 2008, to find out what to do next after Proposition 8 passed in yesterdays election, in San Francisco, Calif. Abellano and Barron were married a few months ago.

Significant events in the almost decadelong dispute over whether gays and lesbians have the right to marry in California.

2004

Feb. 12: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom authorizes the county clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon are the first to marry.

Feb. 27: Attorney General Bill Lockyer asks the state Supreme Court to stop San Francisco officials from issuing same-sex marriage licenses and invalidate gay and lesbian weddings that have taken place at City Hall.

March 11: The California Supreme Court orders an immediate halt to same-sex weddings in San Francisco and says it will decide later in the year whether Newsom exceeded his authority in allowing the marriages.

March 11: San Francisco responds by suing the state in Superior Court, contending that California's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

March 12: Six unwed gay and lesbian couples file suit in Superior Court, challenging the state's marriage law on constitutional grounds. The suit is later consolidated with the city's.

July 15: The U.S. Senate defeats the Bush administration's proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

Aug. 12: The California Supreme Court rules that Newsom exceeded his authority when he authorized same-sex marriages in San Francisco and voids 3,955 marriages that were recorded between Feb. 12 and March 11.

2005

March 14: San Francisco Superior Court judge rules California law defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman violates guarantees of equality and fundamental rights in the state Constitution.

2006

Oct. 5: State appeals court rules gays and lesbians have no constitutional right to marry in California, and any change giving them that right must come from state lawmakers or the voters rather than the legal system.

Nov. 13: The city of San Francisco appeals to the state Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of California's ban on same-sex marriage and rule that the law violates the rights of gays and lesbians.

2007

Sept. 7: For a second time in three years, the Legislature approves a bill to give same-sex couples the right to marry in California. Schwarzenegger vetoes it.

2008

April 24: Supporters of an initiative to ban same-sex marriage in the state's Constitution submit more than 1.1 million signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

May 15: California Supreme Court overturns the ban on same-sex marriage on a 4-3 vote.

June 3: Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, qualifies for the November ballot.

Nov. 4: Prop. 8 passes with 52 percent majority.

2009

May 22 Lawsuit filed in federal court seeks to overturn Prop. 8.

May 26: State Supreme Court upholds Prop. 8 in a ruling limited to state-law issues, saying it does not violate fundamental rights under the California Constitution. The ruling leaves intact 18,000 same-sex marriages performed in California in the months before Prop. 8 passed.

2010

Jan. 11: The federal trial on Prop. 8 begins.

Aug. 4: Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker rules Prop. 8 is unconstitutional but issues a stay on the ruling pending further hearings.

Aug. 6: Schwarzenegger joins state Attorney General Jerry Brown in declining to appeal Walker's ruling and asking the courts to allow gays and lesbians to marry immediately. Prop. 8's backers say they will argue the appeal.

Sept. 2: A state appeals court refuses a request by the conservative Pacific Justice Institute to order Schwarzenegger and Brown to defend Prop. 8 in court.

Nov. 2: Brown is elected governor, and Kamala Harris is elected attorney general. Once in office, Harris declines to defend Prop. 8.

2012

May 9: President Obama endorses the rights of gays and lesbians to marry.

July 31: Prop. 8's sponsors appeal the Feb. 7 decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dec. 7: The Supreme Court grants review of the Prop. 8 case and another case on the denial of federal benefits to same-sex spouses under the Defense of Marriage Act.

2013

June 26: The Supreme Court voids the appeals court's ruling on Prop. 8 in a 5-4 decision, saying the initiative's backers didn't have legal standing to appeal Walker's ruling. In another 5-4 ruling, the court declares the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.